Magistrates on the Trigg County Fiscal Court and the Trigg Coroner will all get raises effective Jan. 1 of next year.

At their Monday evening meeting, magistrates voted 4 – 3 for a $3,000-per-year raise after a recommendation by District Six Magistrate Larry Lawrence. He said it has been more than 25 years since magistrates have had a raise, and that magistrates in 10 counties comparable to Trigg County make more than $1,700 more per year than magistrates here.

“I feel like it’s time that we need to step up a little bit. It’s probably going to be a long time before this is ever brought up again … I feel like if we go up to $3,000 a year, it’ll be quite a few years before it’s brought up again,” said Lawrence. “If we vote ours up, the Coroner will be brought up to our salary, plus his expense account, too.”

Currently, magistrates and the coroner make $9,700 per year, so the raise will bring them up to $12,700 per year. Magistrates also have a $4,000-per-year training incentive, a $3,600-per-year expense account and $1,000 in annual health insurance, so with those benefits included, magistrates will make $20,600 per year.

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